Every year, from December 26-January 1, I take those days to literally slow my life waaaaay down. One way I do that is I say ‘no’ to a lot of things that would take me away from my home. There are Christmas decorations to put away until next year, deep cleaning to do from all the holiday festivities, and usually some fresh rearranging of furniture or accessories just to give our home a new warmth.
But making all the physical changes to our home is only a small part of why life slows down for me so intentionally. The main reason to saying no to overcommitting my time and blocking off so many days to be at home is so I can spend long days, uninterrupted hours, and peaceful moments in thought. Just taking deliberate … …
Time to Think.
I couldn’t help but think of “The Thinker” when I first thought of this blog post! (try saying that 7 times fast!) Now, I have no idea why he’s undressed, but the model in 1850 gave the artist, Auguste Rodin, the perfect bodily expressions of someone who had stopped long enough to sit down, (on a stump, nonetheless), and think. He masterfully captured a position of someone who made the unencumbered decision to give his mind room to ponder.
I heard a pastor once say that one of the disciplines of the Christian life that must be guarded, upheld, and regarded as sacred is the discipline to think. To do whatever is necessary so that we have ample time to give deep and meditative thought to those things that have eternal significance in our life. Things like the holiness of God, the justice of God, the commandments and instructions of God, and the redeeming love, abounding grace, and undeserved mercies of God. There are also those eternal things that need our attention, our submission, and our obedience … such as, the Word of God, the will of God, and the ways of God. When we slow our lives down to fully focus on our personal relationship with the LORD, there is always His spiritual reward that comes! He blesses the one who desires nothing more than to live in the wisdom of God. And such wisdom doesn’t come into our thinking until we do two things: desire it and then choose to think upon it.
What we meditate on will be what we manifest.
If we think unholy thoughts, we will manifest unholy behavior. If we think condemning thoughts, we will condemn. If we think envious thoughts, we will show envy. If we think materialistic thoughts, we will be worldly. BUT, the opposite is also true – If we think righteously, we will behave righteously. If we think mercifully, we will delight in showing mercy. (Micah 7:18) If we think “not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others,” Philippians 2:4, then we will show honor and respect toward others. Bottom line, if we think rightly about the Lord, about Christ, about the Holy Spirit, and about others we will then demonstrate (manifest) the fruit of having “taken captive every thought and making it obedient unto Him.‘ 2 Corinthians 10:5
Which can lead to this question – Who’s the thinker in your thoughts? Your flesh or the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is going to take what we put in our minds (the Living Word of God) and renew our minds. He uses the thoughts of God (found in Scripture) to transform our own thoughts. But what is our part in that transformation? We are “to put off your old self,(stop thinking from the flesh) which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” When we think from the flesh, we feed our minds with sin. We feed our minds with the thoughts and mindset of the world. And we know the world is ruled by the adversary of Christ – the devil. BUT, when we saturate our minds with the Words of God, and when we meditate on them willingly, joyfully, and with the full intention to do what it says, then the Thinker in our thoughts is Christ Himself. Apart from Christ we can do nothing, and that includes … thinking. We’ve been given the mind of Christ, the moment we were born again. Which means we have the tremendous and wonderful responsibility to care for our bodies, (our minds), which is the temple of the Holy Spirit, therefore, we are to glorify God in our minds…in our thinking.
Again, what we meditate on will be what we manifest.
So, during those 7 days, after preparing our home for the new year, I will be preparing the condition of my mind by leaning in closer to the Lord in His Word by learning what I can about this ONE area of my Christian faith – the area of Discernment. There is so much false teaching in our evangelical world today that it is so incredibly and increasingly easy to be deceived. Well-meaning professing Christians are following, listening to, attending the services, supporting, giving to, linking elbows with false teachers that I find myself wanting to help THEM discern the truth. But I first want to know what God’s Word has to say specifically on discernment, and developing discernment.
So, not only for myself but so I can encourage and exhort others, I’m going to be seeking to know the truth about biblical discernment, From time to time, I’ll also be sharing on my blog what I discover through these resources below:
Thinking with a Discerning Mind – Ligonier Ministries
Principles for Discernment – Part 1
And this book by John Macarthur – “Developing Your Discernment.”
The introduction to this book of the Grace to You website says this:
With the sheer volume of information that modern technology brings you each day, spiritual discernment is more vital than ever before—and a skill that’s increasingly rare. But as a Christian, you have the means to tell the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, truth and error.
Of course, that doesn’t mean discerning the truth is easy or automatic. So how can you sharpen your ability to separate fact from fiction? And how can you help others do the same? In his new booklet Developing Your Discernment, John MacArthur helps you examine what true, biblical discernment is—and isn’t—giving you practical steps for honing your ability to distinguish sound doctrine from the subtle lies of Satan.
Be ready for the devil’s deceptions, and learn to wield the sword of the Spirit with wisdom and skill.
The key to living an uncompromising life lies in one’s ability to exercise discernment in every area of his or her life. For example, failure to distinguish between truth and error leaves the Christian subject to all manner of false teaching. False teaching then leads to an unbiblical mindset, which results in unfruitful and disobedient living-a certain recipe for compromise.
Unfortunately, discernment is an area where most Christians stumble. They exhibit little ability to measure the things they are taught against the infallible standard of God’s Word, and they unwittingly engage in all kinds of unbiblical decision-making and behavior. In short, they are not armed to take a decidedly biblical stand against the onslaught of unbiblical thinking and attitudes that face them throughout their day. – John MacArthur
So, with all the house-joys that I will be tackling in getting some restored order to our home, those 7 days will be gloriously spent with the Lord because it will simply be a …
Time to Think.
In His Love and Grace,
Lisa
